There’s a good reason hackers love free public Wi-Fi. It’s because they can easily access information on unsecured Wi-Fi networks. So when you’re in a coffee shop or an airport checking your emails or paying bills while on public Wi-Fi, you could be letting cybercriminals spy on your sensitive and personal information.
VPNs, or virtual private networks, like Norton WiFi Privacy can turn those public Wi-Fi hotspots into secured private connections. Watch this short (30 seconds!) video to see how a VPN could give you a new sense of security on Wi-Fi.
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Last week, the Department of Homeland Security reported that around 600 businesses fell prey to a Point of Sale malware, called “Backoff”, that steals customer payment details through remote access applications. Most of the businesses affected were small, independent brick-and-mortar retailers, but some larger chains were impacted as well. The scope of the attacks could widen as more affected businesses are discovered.
Unfortunately, this kind of criminal activity is growing. Identity theft, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, affected 16.6 million people in 2012. Hackers often...

The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving with new threats and never-before-seen vulnerabilities being discovered by security experts and, just as likely, exploited by cybercriminals at a fast pace. Breaking news alerts of widespread data breaches or high-profile hacks serve as reminders of the need for security online, but the flood of information can also be overwhelming. Let this cut through the clutter - Here are 10 facts you need to know about today's cybersecurity landscape:
1: Cybercriminals are using more zero-day vulnerabilities than ever before.
A new zero-day vuln...

Mobile technologies sure-to-trend in 2014 include "smart" connected devices and wearable gadgets. With 2.88 billion people reached by the #CES2014 hashtag, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, this new tech is growing in popularity in no time. Watch the best-of from Norton at CES.
Did you miss the Norton Truck interactive mobile privacy experience at CES? You can still try Norton Mobile Security for free, here: https://mobilesecurity.norton.com/
Read on for more quick tips to protect your mobile privacy:
Protect your private info: Did you know? 1-in-4 smartphone user...

Summer’s finally here, so whether you intend to take a picnic to the park, play with the children in the garden or jet off to somewhere even sunnier, some simple precautions will keep you and your devices safe this summer.
Watch your devices
First up, physical security. With more outdoor activity it’s natural that it won’t only be your smartphone that travels with you. Parks these days are full of tablets and even lightweight laptops, to go with the many Kindles and Bluetooth speakers, so it pays to be aware of just how valuable your possessions are. Don’t leave them lying in plain sight...

“IoT” is an acronym for the “Internet of Things.” And any device that can connect to the Internet and transmit or receive data can be considered a “smart” thing. That includes smart homes, also known as connected homes. Smart homes — in which IoT devices such as thermostats or ovens can be programmed from anywhere — are popular with consumers who seek convenience. Some people, however, may not realize the connected devices or appliances they’ve grown to depend on could leak private information or be susceptible to hackers. In the rush to get products to market, smart device makers may not see security as a priority.

The world of business has to move with the times, and right now that means it makes a lot of sense to allow staff to use whatever devices they have for work. BYOD – bring your own device – is here to stay, and if implemented properly can be a real boon to the productivity and happiness of your employees. They get to use a device they’re comfortable with, and you get to slash your hardware deployment costs.
But BYOD brings with it new risks to the security of sensitive company data, with employees taking their main work systems out of the office with them at the end of the day. Rather than ...

The rise of the smartphone has brought countless technological benefits that make our daily lives easier in so many ways, and one of the biggest has been the freedom of mobile banking. Gone are the days of waiting in a busy branch on a Saturday afternoon to transfer money into your savings account, or calling an automated number to check your balance.
But having your bank accounts within such close reach does bring its dangers, and it shouldn’t simply be assumed that logging in and doing your banking can now be done at any time and in any place. Here are five quick tips to keeping your mon...

Social media accounts are powerful tools in the wrong hands. We’ve recently seen hackers take over the Twitter accounts of media outlets and large corporations, using them for anything from basic spam to drawing attention to global issues. Your own accounts might seem too small to tempt scammers, but even with just a few followers your information is a valuable commodity. Read on for tips to stay safe on social networks.
Use unique passwords for each social network
It’s a pain, but it is also absolutely essential that you don’t use the same password for Twitter as you do for, say, Facebo...

Thanks to the Internet, booking travel online is simple. But as your ideas of a spring break or summer vacation take shape, remember to be cautious when making reservations online. The number of phony travel booking websites is growing because they’re so successful at scamming consumers. Learn what to do so you don’t take a quick trip to Fraudville instead of your dream destination.

When you’re using the Internet, your Internet security suite can only go so far to protect you from potential dangers like spyware, ransomware and malware. You have to do some of the work yourself, because there are some threats that no Internet security suite can protect you against.
Social engineering is a good example of this. Social engineering is a technique that cybercriminals use, which involves human-to-human interaction in order to get the user to divulge information. Based on exploiting human nature and emotional reactions, there are many ways that attackers can try to trick y...

Looking for employment today is dramatically different from how it was just two decades ago. It’s rare to just walk into a business, fill out an application, and get hired within the same day; today’s job hunt often begins and ends online.

Online fraud is one of fastest growing crimes of our time. The ability to be anonymous, and the fact that it can be performed anywhere in the world makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for law enforcement to curb it.
As online fraud continues to grow, an unfortunate number of American citizens might face this scenario: It’s tax season, and you are getting your paperwork together in order to file your taxes. During the process you receive an email from the IRS stating “Congratulations on filing your tax return.” This is a normal email you would expect after you file taxes, however, ...

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and we love participating, as it is a way to help further educate everyone about staying safe on the Internet. To kick off the first week, we’re going to give you a crash course in basic cyber security 101. A lot of these topics will come up over the next month, so let’s make sure everyone knows what they mean.
1. Secure Passwords:
The keys to our digital kingdom, passwords should be closely protected. A lot of the times, that’s all a cybercriminal needs to gain access to your account. The following articles not only teach you about HOW...

It’s barely spring and already you’re thinking about vacation. Where will you go? What will you do? Who will you meet? Vacations are an exciting, happy time for people to get away and avoid the everyday worries of home. But the fun and leisure comes to a screeching halt in the event that your personally data is compromised while traveling.
Vacations can often put your personal information at risk, due to careless missteps in how you go about preparing to leave, how you communicate while on vacation, and what you share on social media.
Here are seven ways to ensure your data stays safe wh...

Whether you’re a regular business traveler, or a high-tech adventurer seeker, traveling—particularly abroad—poses unique cyber security threats. Business travelers are especially vulnerable because they often carry sensitive data, both personal and business related, on a variety of devices including smartphone, laptops, and tablet.
Don’t cancel your travel plans just yet. Here are eight cyber security tips for business travelers that are also great tips for anyone planning a holiday abroad:
1. Lock Devices Down
Most smartphones, laptops, and tablets come equipped with security settin...

"Digital Citizenship" is the umbrella term used to describe the expectations of a digital citizen. If you use the Internet on a regular basis, you are a digital citizen! Just like being a citizen in the physical world, a lot of the same rules apply when you are a citizen of the digital world.
Here are eight elements that embody what it takes to be a good digital citizen:
Digital commerce:
Citizens should recognize that a large share of the economy is now based online. As a result, there are both pros and cons to e-commerce, and a good digital citizen should not only be aware of the bene...

If you've recently purchased one of the 2009 Norton products, you may have noticed that this year, it came with something new - the Norton Recovery Tool.
To avoid confusion between the Norton Removal Tool (NRT) and the Norton Recovery Tool, I will instead refer to the solution as the Norton Recovery Disc (NRD).
For many of our users, this tool will never play a part in their security software experience, but for those who need it, it can be a life saver.
So what is the Norton Recovery Disc, and when would you ever need to use it?
The NRD is a bootable CD that can run scans and remove threa...

hi everyone!
I have been out for a bit (conference, two weddings and lots of airports) but I just wanted to post the following video that we did discussing vulnerabilities, specifically the one that happened at CanSec West. Mighty props out to Rob Pegoraro's article that started the discussion in the first place!
Message Edited by jgonzales on 05-09-2008 03:00 PMMessage Edited by mikeromo on 05-15-2008 02:15 PM

Cybercrime is on the rise, and although it may seem like it is faceless crime, it is not. “In Search Of The Most Dangerous Town On The Internet” takes a deep, personal look into the real world of cybercrime.
The Romanian town Râmnicu Vâlcea, also known as, "Hackerville", is home to many notorious scammers and convicted blackhat hackers, such as Guccifer, who was responsible for the Hillary Clinton email hack. Through their own words, they discuss their methods for deploying malicious worms, viruses, social engineering scams, stealing identities, and the surprising...

In our 2013 products, many changes/enhancements were added to the Norton IdentitySafe Toolbar. They are summarized as:
Feature
New/Existing/Change
Remarks
Targeted Products
Changes with Local Vault Feature
New
Local Vault feature is removed for our new users of 2013 product, users migrating from 2012 or older versions will still have local vault
NIS, N360
Home Page(button on toolbar)
New
Clicking on this button will enable the users to access the online vault content in single view
NIS, N360
Scam Insight Protection
New
Scam Insight is a new feature wh...

In January of this year, Symantec became a founding member of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO). Symantec and about 40 of the leading academics, reviewers, testers and vendors in the security industry joined forces to form the organization dedicated to helping improve the objectivity, quality and relevance of anti-malware technology testing. Since then, we’ve met several times and shared numerous spirited debates, but something we have agreed upon since our inception is the charter of the organization: · Providing a forum for discussions related to the testing...

A new Android vulnerability, which could allow attackers to view open Web pages on the victim’s Android Web browser or hijack their online accounts, has recently been uncovered, and may impact an estimated 75 percent of android users.
Uncovered in early September, by security researcher, Ray Baloch, the Google Android Browser Same Origin Policy Security Bypass Vulnerability (CVE-2014-6041) reportedly affects any Android version below 4.4. The bug, found in the Android Open Source Project browser (or AOSP browser—a browser that Google no longer supports), could be exploited by an attacke...

Mobile security firm, BlueBox has detected a security bug, dubbed, “Fake ID”, in all Android operating systems (OS) beyond version 2.1. This vulnerability could allow hackers to steal personal information, such as passwords or financial information, from Android users by creating an app that uses fake security credentials to access other apps on a user’s device.
Earlier this year, Symantec’s Internet Security Threat Report noted that mobile malware in 2013 was developed almost exclusively for the Android OS, 32% of which steals a user’s personal information. Luckily, Google says that no e...

They’re both selling by the millions, with no sign of slowing down, but there are big differences between the iOS and Android mobile platforms – not least in the array of security threats they face, and the ways in which they attempt to mitigate them. You’re never totally secure when using a mobile device on either platform, but should the security conscious be choosing one over the other?
The Threat Level
If we’re talking purely about the level of threat that exists on the two platforms, it would seem iPhone and iPad users have the better side of the deal. Studies have found that a fa...

Are you doing enough to keep your information safe? With today’s sophisticated cyber threats you need more than just traditional antivirus (AV) software to stay protected. AV software can prevent, detect and remove malicious computer programs, and while more traditional viruses and email spam still exist, people now have more complex threats to worry about – and more important information to protect.
You need to guard your devices from not only viruses and worms, but web threats, spam and phishing. Cybercriminals can also use drive-by methods for stealing information and concealment malw...

It seems like having a computer equates to having PC problems. We've all been there. You are sitting at your desk and your computer's speed is crawling while you are trying to get something done. Very frustrating. It's not clear what the problem is exactly, but it is clear that your computer isn't running as fast as it use to. You think maybe it's all of the music and photos you've downloaded? Or maybe it's just the fact that your computer is a couple of years old?
It's time to put an end to slow computers and PC frustrations. There's a free new application from NortonLive that wil...

As I write this--about 15 minutes before Apple's "Newest Creation" event is set to begin--I feel, if the hype is to be believed, that I am writing this on a piece of papyrus, musing on the concept of the printing press. I think it is fair to say that this morning's presentation is the most anticipated technology announcment in Apple's history, if not of all time…and we are not even sure if Apple's actually going to announce it!
"It," of course, refers to Apple's entry into the tablet market, the next wave of computing, which does away with the standard keyboard/mouse/screen computer and ...

It’s another year and another shiny new iOS for all to enjoy! Apple hits the mark on all the usual exciting, fun enhancements such as a more intelligent Siri, and those new Emojis we’ve all been waiting for. However, after a few privacy mishaps last year, such as the iCloud photo breach, an iCloud password vulnerability, and the more recent keyraider malware, Apple took notice and significantly upped their security game.
Private Means Private!
iOS 9 will not tie any usage data to an Apple ID or any other Apple service. The data is now completely anonymized, and Apple states that they w...

How crazy is it that cybercriminals are designing malware to steal log-ins for our online game accounts? Are they really that valuable? I can understand wanting to steal my credit card or bank account number. I can understand wanting to steal my identity so they can open new credit accounts in my name and stick me with the bill.
But, my game account? Really?
Over the last few years, various security companies (including Symantec) and several independent security agencies have published reports about the growing prevalence of Trojans aimed at stealing online game account log-ins. Rece...

Is it time to start speaking in code in your living room? Recent tech buzz has fingered voice control on your smart TV as a security risk, listening in on your conversations in order to utilize voice commands, and then sending that information out to third parties. The thought of “always listening” devices using voice commands can seem like a scary thing; however, it’s not as scary as it sounds, just yet. Still it’s important to be aware of potential risks as the growth of speech-to-text technology will more frequently become integrated into new devices entering the market.
Protect You...

In today’s fast-paced world, you can be sure that most universities have gone digital. As a result, more students are saving their important papers on their computers and external hard drives. However, from what I’ve seen, that’s about as far as most students go to safeguard their work. With so many hours (and lost sleep) going into these papers, it is essential to make sure you have it backed up in the cloud, because there would be nothing worse than losing all of your hard work due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
If you only save your work on a hard drive, once your compute...

One of the most important features of our products is the ability for us to actually update them. The Mac team has been talking a lot about this lately, specifically: how best to keep users up to date without impacting them in any way?
Our updating process actually has quite a few steps:
1 - we launch a process that manages the updating (LiveUpdate)
2 - LiveUpdate checks the LiveUpdate servers (most of the time a Symantec server, but sometimes enterprise customers have a local LiveUpdate server that lives behind the enterprise firewall) and checks to see what updates are actually up there...

By Alejandro Borgia, senior director, product management, Symantec Corporation
For customers looking for the best security technology for their needs, it’s critical to have access to reliable and meaningful information so they can make smart decisions to stay protected in today’s complex threat landscape. As an industry, we face a challenge in that testing security products is a highly technical and time-consuming process, and there are shortcomings in the approach of some tests that result in data that is misleading at best.
Last week, PC Magazine published an article titled “Microso...

Biometrics are part of the cutting edge of technology. Put simply, biometrics are any metrics related to human features. Fingerprinting is a very early and simple version of biometrics, like when you login to your phone using your fingerprint. As with any emerging technology, the first question you should ask is if they are safe.
How Do Biometrics Work?
If you’ve ever put your fingerprint into an device, you have a vague idea of how biometrics work. Basically, you record your biometric information, in this case a fingerprint. The information is then stored, to be accessed later for compa...

I had the pleasure of meeting some of my Symantec Italy colleagues at a recent conference in Vegas, but I had no idea that Lee Majors was part of the team. I was delighted to see that the product development team’s focus on performance has been resonating internationally; here’s a link to a light-hearted video they created to showcase the bionic performance of Norton Internet Security 2008:
Message Edited by jgonzales on 05-21-2008 11:04 PM

I couldn’t tell you the first time I got Rickrolled. By now you’ve heard of it, from Google or the Nightly News to the guy two cubicles down who’s always late to the Internet party. Once, it was a surprise to click on what promised to be an election-year gaffe, a great deal on flash memory, or a review of the best chimichanga in West Los Angeles…only to be treated to that fine young man Rick Astley belting out “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
At first it’s perplexing. Then, perhaps for a nanosecond, amusing. By the time your mother-in-law with the Mac SE and 2400 baud dial-up AOL connection ...

As more of what we do online grows, so does the need for cyber security professionals. Now that everything is connected, criminals are shifting their focus to the Internet landscape, utilizing social engineering and other types of scams to obtain financial and personal data from unsuspecting victims.

Despite controversial beginnings, many school districts across the United States are embracing BYOD—bring your own device—in the classroom by expanding curriculum to include student owned devices. With this trend gaining momentum, some districts are starting to run pilot programs to explore the benefits of bringing mobility to classrooms through BYOD. Rather than fighting against change, forward thinking school districts are moving into 21st century learning environments because they recognize the advantages of incorporating tehcnology and learning applications into the classroom to bet...

The last few years have been all about BYOD – or bring your own device – an IT revolution that freed employees from the shackles of dated or unsuitable hardware in favor of, well, whatever they wanted to use. The benefits are obvious: most employees have their own computers at home and know how to use them, so they can spend more time getting down to business and less time trying to work out why this application doesn’t have that feature.
But there are big drawbacks to BYOD as well, and most of them concern security. First there’s the fact that company data is leaving the premises every e...

With this little known exploit, a mobile phone’s battery life can actually be used to track online behavior. Security researchers have found that the battery status API of mobile devices can be used to track people online. In some instances, this can be used to upsell services purchased through a mobile app, ride sharing “surge pricing” for example. How else can this be used? Here’s what you need to know about the privacy and security issues raised.
What is the Battery Status API
The Battery Status API was introduced in HTML5, and this was intended to give site owners information so th...

The security of electronic voting machines has been the subject of scrutiny, just before the November U.S. presidential elections. Are they secure? Are they anonymous? And if the answer is yes, how can we possibly know? A Symantec security expert recently demonstrated just what a motivated hacker can do to undermine the election by hacking an electronic voting machine.
Can Hackers Hack the Election?
At the Black Hat convention this year, Symantec’s Brian Varner demonstrated a security flaw in an electronic voting machine and the smart card a voter would use to place their vote. Using...

Ever had one of those days?
You really intended for things to go right, but they didn’t. And they didn’t simply whimper out of existence, but left large, smoking holes in the living room carpet. That was this Tuesday.
In truth, it began on Monday evening around 4:30 p.m. Pacific when we released a patch, the infamously named “pifts.exe,” which left the building before we signed it. This is a process that has worked like clockwork for many years, but due to a simple mistake, the patch wasn’t signed and was instead sent out to Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security customers using th...

We’ve been hearing a lot about cloud computing lately. Seems like just about anything you can tuck away into the clouds gets better, or so the story goes, since it allows everyone to access it from anywhere and harness the power of humongous databases full of useful information, among other benefits. Sure enough, the recent RSA conference had its fair share of hype on cloud computing and it has been mentioned to do everything from change security as we know it to solving the imminent swine flu pandemic. On the heels of RSA, a new “cloud antivirus” (AV) solution has been introduced which ha...

College is a whole new world. Between the excitement of living on your own, meeting new, interesting people, and picking out classes you actually care about, there are some equally important things to consider while embracing your full-fledged independence.
College and technology go hand-in-hand. You use your computer for research and term papers, your phone to keep track of your class schedules, and your tablet to keep up with old and new friends on social media. Technology is a great tool for connecting us all, but that’s the thing- it connects EVERYONE- including cybercriminals. For e...